Holding the Sky
by Carter Lee Grace
Summary: After Annabeth was thrown off a cliff in The Titan's Curse, we see what happens to her from Percy's dream. But what was going on in Annabeth's mind?


The Titan's Curse is by far my favorite book in all of the Percy Jackson books. (Not that the rest aren't amazing, but come on: the Hunters, Thalia, manticores, and children of Hades. If you don't see it, then you have a dam problem.) And since Annabeth barely shows up (sadly), I really wanted to write something from her POV, so the dream that Percy has from Annabeth's point of view. It kind of ended up just like an extended version of the original, and most likely very OOC, but I think it's pretty decent... I may write more of the books from other characters' point of view, just because it's a lot of fun (to me, anyways).

**Disclaimer: If only I owned this book and these characters, Chapter 14 ("I Have a Dam Problem") would've went on much, much longer.**

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The last thing I can remember is being thrashed around, hanging on wildly to a manticore, the Hunter's arrows aimed my way, plunging into the dark abyss of the night, and Percy's voice screaming, "No!"

Then, my body hits the hard, cold ground, pain shooting up my legs where I had made contact. The air around me is suffocating, layered heavily with an aura of evil, something that shouldn't be here. I shake my head, blinking, trying to clear my mind, unsure of what's happening. I don't like not knowing, not having a strategy to find a way out of this. Lately, there have just been too many unknowns, and all I want is a situation in which I could come out victorious. Logic and reason shouldn't fail...unless you're me, one of the unluckiest demigods ever.

The fog around me clogs my vision, leaving me disoriented with no clue at where I could possibly be. The ground tilts below me...I'm on a hill, somewhere. Gingerly stepping forward, I nearly walk into a marble structure that I couldn't see through the darkness. On closer inspection, I deduce that it's a Greek column, except that it's been broken down, like it was attacked, or just destroyed. My eyebrows furrow in confusion, trying to figure this out. Did I somehow end up in Greece? There shouldn't be any ruins like this in America...

Hunting for more clues as to find out where in Hades I am, my best plan is to scout the area. But with each step I take towards the top of the mountain, the air gets heavier and heavier. What? That doesn't make any sense. Continuing up, each step I take needs more effort, my lungs suppressed under an invisible force that seems intent on choking me. I run into more of those demolished columns, at varying degrees of destruction, like the remains of an ancient building. Have I really been transported to another continent? I might've passed out for who knows how long, so there's no telling how much time has passed. Frustration washes over me, coaxing me to take out my knife and finish off these marble monuments. They've already been damaged so much. A little more couldn't hurt, could it?

"Thorn!" I yell out to my surroundings, "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?"

Of course, the only response is the echo of my words, before the eerie silence returns to haunt me. My hands grip the ragged edges a shattered wall, my arms lifting me up and over it. The uneasy feeling in my stomach strengthens, and I'm really, well, kind of _scared_. I squint through the mist, and I see another solid form, something that causes a tiny gasp to come out of my mouth.

Luke. Luke, the guy who used to take care of me. The guy who gave me the knife that had saved my life so many times. The guy who promised that we'd always have a family in each other, even though our real parents were horrible. Luke, the guy who attacked Percy, poisoned Thalia's tree, and betrayed our camp.

Luke, the guy that is now holding the sky.

His clothes are torn, his body hunched over in a tiny crouch. Sweat drips down his face, the face covered in bloody scratches alongside the scar from the dragon Ladon. It's obvious that he's in agony, that the weight of the sky is too heavy. I used to think that nothing could ever stop him, but I guess this was just too much for him to handle, too much for him to be able to bear. His blue eyes meet mine, and the exhaustion and defeat seem to overpower him.

"Annabeth! Help me! Please!" His voice is thin and weak, like those words take up half of the little energy that he has left. In that moment, I see my "big brother" again, the one who protected me whenever something threatened to hurt me, no matter how small. I realize that I'm crying at the sight of him going through this torture, like seven years ago, when my pain was his pain, and his was mine. I run forward towards him, wishing I could think of some way to console him, some way to m-

Wait. I suddenly freeze, unmoving, still as a statue. What am I doing? Do I want to help this traitor, this person who was once good, but is now, well, borderline evil? He POISONED THALIA'S TREE, the last remnant of a girl who had SACRIFICED HERSELF for us. He was totally okay with murdering me on the _Princess Andromeda_ over the summer, along with Tyson and Percy. And he's also tried to kill Percy like what, three times in the last year or so? How could I feel pity for this, this, this MONSTER?

"What happened?" I ask, uncertain of what kind of answer I want to hear. Did he purposely sign up for his own suicide attempt?

In that voice that seems to sap all his energy, Luke replies, "They left me here. Please. It's killing me." Well, serves him right for joining Kronos and going all Benedict Arnold on us. Kronos doesn't care about him. To Kronos, Luke is probably just a pawn, something to use and then throw out.

And for some reason, all that does is make me feel even more sorry for him.

With my emotions so messed up inside, all I can think to say is, "Why should I trust you?" The sadness I try so hard to keep under control sounds loudly in my words, and I wince internally at faltering. But why shouldn't he know how bad he makes me feel? Shouldn't he know how much it sucks to have to decide whether someone is a friend or an enemy?

"You shouldn't. I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die." So he does know what he's done to me...yet he hasn't shown a bit of remorse for it until now, when he's seconds away from his deathbed. But the thought of him being gone forever, wandering in the Fields of Asphodel or maybe even the Fields of Punishment for the rest of eternity...that bothers me as much as if it was, say, Percy.

No, wait. I don't like that comparison. It feels...wrong somehow.

I'm ready to walk away, to leave Luke feeling the physical form of the torture that he's been putting me through, when Luke's arms loosen, slumping to the ground. In that split second, I make my decision without even consciously thinking it through. I couldn't bear to see him this hurt, and then know that it's my fault that the burden is worsened. My feet instinctively move underneath the sky, underneath the massive amounts of matter falling towards the earth. I'v e heard how terrible the weight was, but I'm pretty sure I've been through worse.

Styx, I'm so wrong.

As Luke lets go, my hands take his place, keeping Ouranos away from Gaea. Nothing could've prepared me for the feeling of holding the sky. Red flashes in my eyes, and everything looks hazy. My arms feel like steel blocks, pressing against a million tons of cold rock. I feel my knees dig deeper into the dirt, the stones cutting into my flesh through the holes of my ripped up jeans. I have to hold this thing up, though. Otherwise, a lot of innocent people will be, well, dead.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Luke escape from underneath where the Titans first came to be. "Thanks," he says, gasping for breath. My sweaty palms slip, struggling to keep a firm hand on the sky. I know how Atlas feels now, even if he has the strength of a Titan. This was his job for so long, and I've been doing it for about five seconds, and it seems impossible. This isn't a task made for a mortal, a human, to complete.

"Help me hold it," I beg Luke. Already, the pain courses through my entire body, every bit of me screaming for it to end. Anything, _anything_, is better than this.

Luke shakily stood up, as if testing his balance to make sure he wouldn't fall. "I knew I could count on you." He starts to walk away, like I'm not even here.

NO! I can't believe I trusted that creep! How could I think that he wouldn't bite me back this time? When will I learn to stop feeling sorry for a guy that doesn't exist anymore? My teeth clench together out of fury, when the sky presses me down a little farther, bending my back into a slightly contorted postion. I couldn't hold this long.

"HELP ME!" I scream, pleadingly. Even if he's a stupid, vile, filthy, lying, traitorous idiot, he's also my only hope right now.

Luke briefly glances back at me, his eyes now cold and hard. "Oh, don't worry. Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meanwhile, try not to die." With that, he continues on his way, disappearing behind the thick shroud of fog like a ghost, like he was never really here.

Trust, family, love, it's all horrible. He said he'd never let anything hurt me, but he's the one causing all my pain. Apparently, there's no quota on how much a person can be hurt. It just builds and builds, until I'm left at nothing. My arms tremble, wobbling against the effort, and I sink lower, crumbling to the ground. Holding the sky is just too much for me. It's impossible.

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I hope you liked it! I'd appreciate it if you tell me what you think. It'd make me feel happier than Cerberus with a big red rubber ball.


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